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cookflys(at)yahoo.com
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 Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 7:57 am Post subject: 363KF down / Thanks for the last 7 years |
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It is with great sadness to say that 363KF (modII) was severally damaged on landing. I bounced and got sideways before I could get it straighted back up the gear folded. I really don't know where to go from here. Is it worth repairing? I need new prop (582 greyhead) and both gear assemblies. The good thing about the Foxes is the ground speed was so slow it was never a scary thought. With two kids in college and another on the way to college funds are limited so I might be grounded for a while.
I want thank all members of this list. The last 7 years during the building process was fun and you guys made it happen. I really could not have done it with out this list and the wealth of information out there.
What type of inspection would you do to the engine and gearbox. I had a wood GSC prop and was on grass when it hit. (two blades broke) This engine was running like a sewing machine and had less than 15 hrs on it.
Charles Cook
N363KF 582
ATL
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Guy Buchanan
Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 1204
Location: Ramona, CA
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 10:03 am Post subject: 363KF down / Thanks for the last 7 years |
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At 07:56 AM 11/4/2008, you wrote:
| Quote: | I really don't know where to go from here. Is it worth repairing? I
need new prop (582 greyhead) and both gear assemblies.
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Absolutely! And you should do it as soon as possible and get back in
the air as soon as possible. I know you feel bad, but it's not nearly
as bad as you'll feel if you abandon your aircraft now. C'mon. You
built it. You can re-build it.
1. Check over the whole aircraft and ascertain what structures need
replacing. Even if it's the whole fuselage or a whole wing, it will
be way quicker and easier to replace that structure than it was to
build it in the first place. (You have the knowledge, and tooling,
and most of the parts already made.)
2. Replace the gear. Get the new off-road gear from Lowell or John.
It's taller and wider and has no bungies to replace. (Yeah!) Or make
your own, since it's really quite simple. (After all, you built the
rest of the plane. If you don't weld, then do all the fabrication and
tooling and take it to a welder as a kit. Or enroll in a community
college welding course and make the gear as your project. This way
you can get the gear you want.)
3. Replace the prop. You might be able to get away with replacing
just the two blades and having the hub magnafluxed or otherwise
NDTed. You were probably near idle so the loads on the engine will be
minimal. Fortunately you had the wood blades, so that also reduces
the loads on the engine.
4. Check the run-out and wobble on the prop flange. This will tell
you a lot about the load that went into the engine. If it's within
spec, pull the gearbox off and apart, (easy to do,) and have the
castings magnafluxed or otherwise NDTed. If OK, put it back together
and use it. (It is very unlikely the engine is damaged from this kind
of prop strike. Either you have the clutch or the rubber donut.
Either way the shock loads into the engine are dramatically reduced.)
Make sure you re-glue and re-torque the main gear when you
re-assemble the gearbox. It will probably have slipped. If you're not
up to any of this, pull the engine right away, box it up and send it
to a reputable engine facility and let them do it. (Bob Robertson at
Light Aircraft in Canada or Lockwood Aviation in FL. In the west try
Wayne Flemington in Temecula.)
5. Replace the Lord mounts supporting the engine. They may have been
over-taxed, are hard to inspect, and are relatively cheap. Check the
rest of the engine mount carefully.
6. Check everything else for straightness, particularly the gear
support structure.
Most importantly, GET ON IT! It's either a bump in the road
or the end; depending solely on how YOU HANDLE IT. If cost is an
issue, take your time and do all the work yourself. There's plenty of
information available, plenty of help, and you'll come out of it with
some new tools and a lot more knowledge. (Yes, you can even do the
engine work yourself. The 582 is dead simple.)
Good luck.
Guy Buchanan
San Diego, CA
K-IV 1200 / 582-C / Warp / 100% done, thanks mostly to Bob Ducar.
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_________________
Guy Buchanan
Deceased K-IV 1200
A glider pilot too. |
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MDKitfox(at)aol.com
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 5:59 pm Post subject: 363KF down / Thanks for the last 7 years |
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Charles,
It is indeed a sad thing to lose the airplane - for a while. Guy is absolutely correct in his email to you. You can do it. Take a small step each day and you'll be back flying sooner, rather than later or not at all. Stuff happens, no problem!
In the immortal words of Tim, the Toolman, Taylor, in 'Galaxy Quest', 'Never give up, Never surrender.'
All in all, the best news is, you didn't get hurt. Now, get going, build, repair, and get back in the air!
Rick Weiss
Series V Speedster, 912S Power, SkyStar S/N 1
MDKitfox(at)aol.com (MDKitfox(at)aol.com)
On Nov 4, 2008, at 10:56 AM, charles cook wrote:
| Quote: | It is with great sadness to say that 363KF (modII) was severally damaged on landing. I bounced and got sideways before I could get it straighted back up the gear folded. I really don't know where to go from here. Is it worth repairing? I need new prop (582 greyhead) and both gear assemblies. The good thing about the Foxes is the ground speed was so slow it was never a scary thought. With two kids in college and another on the way to college funds are limited so I might be grounded for a while.
I want thank all members of this list. The last 7 years during the building process was fun and you guys made it happen. I really could not have done it with out this list and the wealth of information out there.
What type of inspection would you do to the engine and gearbox. I had a wood GSC prop and was on grass when it hit. (two blades broke) This engine was running like a sewing machine and had less than 15 hrs on it.
Charles Cook
N363KF 582
ATL
| Quote: | | http://www.matronic=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D--> |
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Sbennett3(at)aol.com
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 7:47 pm Post subject: 363KF down / Thanks for the last 7 years |
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Charles, Also The investment here. I bought my fox, I didn't build it. During my solo cross country I laid down a wing on landing and really relooked some things. That was 300 hrs ago, and I'm so glad I didn't give up. I watched my investment lay down on the runway and drag its way to a stop. I gathered myself up and fixed my airplane and went on to get my ticket in that same plane. Shake it off and like the others said. You built it, now rebuild it and move on. I promise, It gets easier. Steve Bennett KF4/1200 912 speedwing. Man, I love my little plane.
In a message dated 11/4/2008 9:01:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, MDKitfox(at)aol.com writes:
| Quote: | Charles,
It is indeed a sad thing to lose the airplane - for a while. Guy is absolutely correct in his email to you. You can do it. Take a small step each day and you'll be back flying sooner, rather than later or not at all. Stuff happens, no problem!
In the immortal words of Tim, the Toolman, Taylor, in 'Galaxy Quest', 'Never give up, Never surrender.'
All in all, the best news is, you didn't get hurt. Now, get going, build, repair, and get back in the air!
Rick Weiss
Series V Speedster, 912S Power, SkyStar S/N 1
MDKitfox(at)aol.com (MDKitfox(at)aol.com)
On Nov 4, 2008, at 10:56 AM, charles cook wrote:
| Quote: | It is with great sadness to say that 363KF (modII) was severally damaged on landing. I bounced and got sideways before I could get it straighted back up the gear folded. I really don't know where to go from here. Is it worth repairing? I need new prop (582 greyhead) and both gear assemblies. The good thing about the Foxes is the ground speed was so slow it was never a scary thought. With two kids in college and another on the way to college funds are limited so I might be grounded for a while.
I want thank all members of this list. The last 7 years during the building process was fun and you guys made it happen. I really could not have done it with out this list and the wealth of information out there.
What type of inspection would you do to the engine and gearbox. I had a wood GSC prop and was on grass when it hit. (two blades broke) This engine was running like a sewing machine and had less than 15 hrs on it.
Charles Cook
N363KF 582
ATL
| Quote: | | http://www.matronic=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D--> |
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= | Quote: |
://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/contribution
f="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kitfox-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kitfox-List
.matronics.com/">http://forums.matronics.com
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[quote][b]
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Michel
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 966
Location: Norway
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:46 pm Post subject: 363KF down / Thanks for the last 7 years |
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| Quote: | From: Weiss Richard [MDKitfox(at)aol.com]
It is indeed a sad thing to lose the airplane - for a while. Guy is
absolutely correct in his email to you. You can do it.
|
That's right, Charles; you can rebuilt your aircraft. Look at me; I have a lovely, perfectly flyable Kitfox but lost my pilot license because of a heart attack.
.. If I could rebuild my heart, I would be very busy doing it right now.
Take a deep breath and off you go, man! Start counting the days before you're in the air again. Mike, Lowell, Lynn, ... many on this list had to start rebuilding and they did it.
Cheers,
Michel Verheughe
Norway
Kitfox 3 - Jabiru 2200 ... grounded
Do not archive
<pre><b><font size color="#000000" face="courier new,courier">
| | - The Matronics Kitfox-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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_________________
Kitfox 3 - Jabiru 2200 |
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akflyer
Joined: 07 May 2007
Posts: 574
Location: Soldotna AK
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:14 am Post subject: Re: 363KF down / Thanks for the last 7 years |
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rebuild it. I just finished putting the last pinked tape on the wing of my re-build. same thing happened to the guy I bought the wreck from. hard landing, gear folded, he went on his back. He did some major damage but it will fly again this weekend after alot of work (more than if I had just built a kit). Will it be worth it... every dime and every hour I have spent on it.
Last year, we had the same thing happen on my brothers kitfox. Bounced it good, gear folded, we went over on its back. Got the gear, prop, wing tips and cowling. A little glass work, a patch here and there, new prop and it was flying 2 weeks later (had to wait on the new gear from Avid).
Don't give up, now is a good time to do any mods you thought of after it was built the first time. I would recommend the Avid Wide gear, or the new "Cub" style gear as the stock KF gear is prone to breaking. I know 4 locally that have balled it up do to a gear failure on landings that were not really that bad. I have beat the crap out of the Avid wide gear with no issues so far!
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_________________
DO NOT ARCHIVE
Leonard Perry aka SNAKE
Soldotna AK
Avid "C" / Mk IV
582 (147 hrs and counting on the rebuild)
IVO IFA
Full Lotus 1450
#1 snake oil salesman since 1-22-2009
I would rather die trying to live, than to live trying not to die.... |
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